That black hole is basically the bilge Rusty. It has no outlet. It is possible to worm your way back there from the cabin (or get an expendable neighborhood kid to weasel his or her way back)and pick whatever it is that dropped down there out. I and others I'm sure drop ground tackle down there to add a bit more weight low in the center of the boat. I suppose you could fill it with foam if you wanted to, but I prefer to store chain, rode and anchor in there. The downside is it's not too convenient to get that stuff out if you need it in a hurry. t Tom Smith & Jane Van Winkle Sandpoint, Idaho M15-345, Chukar M17-064, Unnamed -----Original Message----- From: Rusty Knorr [mailto:mazemusic@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:08 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: The black hole... Hi all. Just curious about the area behind the keel/centerboard trunk on my M-15, underneath the cockpit. I have no access down there, my lazarrets(sp?) are solid on the bottom. I know if you drop something down there, good luck getting it out but what is down there and why is it there? Can it fill with water or is it self draining? Would it make sense to fill it with foam to increase flotation and prevent things falling down in there? Any insight is as always very appreciated. Thank you! Fair winds, Rusty PS: I plan to try out my newly cleaned Tohatsu this weekend. If there are any religeous sailers out there, please pray for me! lmao! ===== "In a power boat you may get there faster, but in a sailboat you are already there." __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats This message was scanned for viruses!!